The Booklet
by Glistening Sun
Summary: A companion fic to my AU verse 'Our Current Predicament' - Sharon keeps a mystery booklet on her bedside table. One day Andy's curiosity finally gets the better of him.


Author's Note: This is a companion ficlet to my AU verse 'Our Current Predicament' and it set around chapters 9 to 11. I might post a few more little stories I didn't manage to fit into the original story if there's interest. My thanks to Adama-Roslinlove for her help with vocabulary!

* * *

><p>I have to admit I was curious. I wasn't sure I had ever seen this book before. But then again, I had only really moved in with Sharon a few months ago. A small booklet. Someone, probably Sharon, had covered it with a colourful 1980s style wrapping paper with little hearts. The cover was well worn and had some stains on it. It had suddenly appeared on her bedside table. For a few days, I practised self-restraint, but then my curiosity finally got the better of me. Sharon was in the bathroom taking a shower. One she had specifically requested to take by herself, probably because we had such a hard time staying away from each other. Dressed, it seemed easier to follow Naomi's orders of 'pelvic rest', but under the warm spray of the shower, Sharon in my arms. Well, that was another matter.<p>

I took the small booklet into my hands and turned it around. She must have had this for years. Carefully, I opened it. It seemed to be a pregnancy guide of sorts. No surprise there. What was the surprise was to see all the little notes in Sharon's meticulous handwriting. The book described a pregnancy week by week and Sharon had pencilled in dates in the margins. Four dates, one for Emily, one for Ricky, one for her baby she had lost and one for our little girl. Next to the dates, she had made additional notes. On morning sickness, on the baby's movements, doctor visits, my name surrounded by a heart. Oh Sharon. This was so precious. There were a few pieces of loose paper with lists of names. The paper was old, I could tell, and _'Emily'_ was circled on one of the lists. Some of the names were in a handwriting other than Sharon's. Probably Jack's, I reasoned. It turned out that he had written down the name Emily. On another list I saw _'Richard William Raydor'_ in her familiar writing.

I went back to the beginning of the booklet. She had written her name in capital letters. Some pages had been left empty; this seemed to be some sort of pregnancy diary. I skipped over those pages of Sharon's intimate notes, because I was beginning to feel guilty. Then, at the end of the book, just before the names and birthdates of her children, there was a long list of what to do to get ready for your baby. This was all Sharon. She had ticked off what she had done along with a note of the date she had done it on, notes on what she had postponed. Yes, that was her, planned and meticulous, organised to the smallest detail. She had written _'Marry Andy'_ in one of the empty lines at the boom. Go figure. I noticed that we were running behind on some of the items. _'Paint the nursery walls'_ _'Assemble nursery furniture'_, _'Buy coming-home clothes for your baby'_, but were still well in the clear for _'Pack a bag to take to the hospital – don't forget something familiar that will remind you of home'_. She had circled _'Talk with your husband about a name for your baby'_, but that seemed to be older. Not that we had talked about that yet. This was so precious, I was so engrossed in studying her notes on the list that I didn't even hear the bathroom door open nor notice Sharon sitting down beside me. Only when she leaned into me did I look up.

"Are you spying on me?" She sounded curious more than anything else.

I was, wasn't I?

"I'm sorry, I …"

"Don't be. I left it lying out there. It's my pregnancy diary. Did Joanna ever do one of those? They were quite the rage in the late eighties as I remember."

"I don't know, don't think so. Never seen this before."

"You've looked inside?"

"I skipped the diary part, just read the section on weeks and the to do list."

"We're running behind," she stated matter of factly and rubbed her stomach with her free hand.

"I noticed that. You seem surprisingly comfortable with that though."

Sharon laughed and leaned over me to flip through the pages of the book to where it showed all the medical appointments for prenatal check-ups.

"Now this, that is what's important and then this here…" she continued to leaf through the book until she came to the to do list and put her finger next to _'Marry Andy'_.

"That's all that counts for me, Andy."


End file.
